Another hearty thank-you to my readers and reviewers. I hope you continue to enjoy the story!
"Finally," Carth grumbled with great agitation as Bastila, Juhani and Jolee appeared in the hotel corridor.
"Is he in there?" Bastila asked motioning towards the closed door to Canderous's room.
"Luckily, yes. Didn't think he had that much to pack."
"Pack?" Jolee said with alarm. "What for?"
"Whaddya mean what for? You were there, Jolee—I'm your man till the end he said. He's going to her!" Carth was gesturing wildly as his thoughts and words tumbled over each other. "He doesn't care about us, about Jiara, about anything; all he cares about is just going out there and killing everything. Had us all fooled, we thought he changed…. Ya know, he wanted this. He looks to his glory days and thought on how to get them back; he came up with this plan. He took her to the Sith, that's what happened!"
"I knew Jiara would not betray us! I shall kill him!" Juhani hissed, her eyes no more than glowering slits. She never really liked Canderous; the Mandalorians had destroyed her home, her people. She had grown to tolerate him as a teammate, but she never sought his company; she kept close enough only to keep an eye on him, she could never trust him no matter how many times he proved his worth or loyalty. She was most willing to believe this, evidence or no.
"Simmer down, people! What proof do you have, son?" Jolee asked as he placed a staying hand on Juhani's trembling arm.
"Isn't it obvious?" Carth spat. "Last one to see her was Canderous, and he claims he never went to her room? Next thing we know, Jiara is back to being the supreme ruler of the Sith. Pretty easy to figure out once you think about it."
"Oh, so this is just your theory? Betrayal and all, eh Carth?" Jolee dismissed.
"Good enough for me!" Juhani growled. With an angry jerk she freed herself of Jolee's hold. Juhani had had just about enough of everyone claiming the worst of Revan. If the Mandalorian had betrayed her, his life was forfeit. She sensed a small happiness seep into her: finally, an excuse to rid the galaxy of one who caused the end of her race…as if she needed another.
"Carth, have you been drinking?" Bastila asked pointedly. She had detected the smell of alcohol and determined it was definitely coming from Onasi. "You are drunk, aren't you?" she said with angry disappointment.
"No!" he said quickly. "Maybe," he admitted after a pause. "Okay just a little, but I am in complete control!" he added defiantly.
"You were supposed to be stopping him, not drowning your sorrows. Care to explain?" Bastila commanded in her best accusatory voice as her eyebrow arched ever so elegantly.
"I was! Okay, see, I went to the Hawk and I checked on his progress—didn't look too good, the droid was a mess, parts everywhere. I distracted Canderous with a bottle of Tarisian ale. It worked, and we ended up here at the hotel cantina. He wasn't working on the droid at all; I thought I had the problem solved. But about 30 minutes ago, that damn droid showed up! Outta nowhere! I stalled them as long as I could, but they came up here." He pointed to the door.
"How is that possible?" Bastila asked with annoyed incredulity.
"Well, I am glad I wasn't the only one to forget," Carth snapped back at her. "At least I was drinking…" he growled sarcastically.
"HK's self-repair protocol," Jolee answered in a distracted tone as the realization settled on him. How could they have all forgotten that, especially when it was that very function in the droid that earned them victory in too many fights to count?
"And we have a winner!" Carth ridiculed. "Canderous must have gotten the core program back on-line before we left the Hawk. I saw all the parts, assumed he didn't know what he was doing. Oh, he knew exactly what he was doing; Canderous got the wires patched, hooked up the arms, then put everything possible within reach of HK so he had whatever he needed to finish fixing himself. I thought I was luring Canderous away from the ship—turns out he was making sure I was out of the way so HK could get done as quickly as possible. You were right Jolee—nothing as crafty as an old Mandalorian."
"But he didn't let anything slip while you two were boozing it up, did he? Anything about Revan or the Sith?" Jolee asked.
"That is something else I forgot—or didn't know. I don't think he can get drunk. Not only can he drink like a Selkath, but his implant purifies his system faster than he can pour. I should have known, the way he finished off that Tarisian Hutt-piss. I was holding my own, but there was no contest. He never lost it, even for a second. He said nothing he didn't want me to hear. By the time I realized what was going on, it was too late—and HK was there anyway," Carth admitted with an exasperated sigh.
"Then we are back to where we began—you have no solid proof he had a hand in Revan's return," Bastila cautioned.
Juhani looked away in disappointment: she chastised herself for allowing her anger to overtake her so quickly. She had not realized she held such venom towards Canderous; despite all her attempts to release the hatred she had gathered and nurtured for the Mandalorians, she was still holding him personally responsible, and sought to punish him. She shook her head as she realized she had afforded more mercy to Xor. She smiled at her new sense of understanding as the words of Master Quatra floated through her mind: It is time, my student, for you to leave me. I have no more to teach you; but make no mistake, there are plenty of lessons still to be learned. Your new master will be the Force itself: be open to its teachings for its wisdom comes in most unexpected ways. Juhani silently thanked her former master, then returned her attention to her current situation. The first thing she heard was Bastila's terse and stilted words filling the hall as she continued to berate the poor pilot.
"Stay focused, Carth—we may well need his assistance to rescue her and accusing him of treachery will not further our cause," Bastila admonished. "Remember, I was supposedly the only one who knew of his plans to leave. Please do not betray my confidence in you." Carth lowered his gaze as he breathed heavily in anger. "If you cannot play along, it might be best if you remain silent, or leave."
The absurdity of the situation hit Juhani for the first time: here was Bastila, yet again talking down to a man nearly twice her age, a legend in his own time, a regular normal human who had helped win wars and save the galaxy without benefit of the Force to aid his efforts. She doubted Bastila—or herself for that matter—could have been so heroic with such a limitation. Juhani shuddered inwardly at the thought of a life without the Force. Yet Carth had faced such an existence, and made the most of it: holding his own, and at times, his efforts surpassing those of his Jedi companions. Despite these accomplishments, right now Juhani found it most admirable in the man that he was able to withstand Bastila's endless lecturing…and give back as good as he got.
"Oh no, I am not going anywhere!" Carth exploded as he looked up at her, his eyes flashing with fierce intensity. "If he thinks he pulled one over on me…well, two can play at that game," he said determinedly.
"Do not do anything foolish," Juhani warned calmly with deeper comprehension. "You do not wish to jeopardize Jiara with unwise actions of vengeance, do you?"
"I've come a long way, Juhani, I am not the same man who hunted Saul," he said as he relaxed, then smiled. "Don't worry, I know what I am doing."
"Well, that makes one of us," Jolee grumped. "So, do we have a plan, other than trying to charm him into staying with us? I am pretty certain that isn't going to work."
The door slid open: Canderous stood there, a pack slung over his shoulder alongside his ever-present repeater. HK-47 was just behind him.
"Observation: It would appear you were correct, Mandalorian. Shall I remove these meatbags from our path?" The whine of a blaster warming up buzzed through the air.
"Hey, not so fast!" Carth said quickly, both hands raised. "What's he mean, Canderous?"
"Stand down, HK. Let's see what they have to say," he said waving off the droid.
"Disappointment: Why you organics waste time indulging one another's endless prattle and whiny melodrama never ceases to escape the logic of my core, no matter how long I find myself unfortunately in your company. Statement: wake me when this is over. I desire only to return to my master." With that, HK fell into stand-by.
"So, what does the Council say?" Canderous ignored the droid. "Sitting around as usual?"
"They are meditating on the situation, so yes, I suppose that they are sitting around," Bastila lied. The Republic and Jedi collaboration was something Canderous did not need to know given the circumstances. Unfortunately, Carth was equally ignorant of the truth.
"Damn it!" Carth yelled. "They just don't care! We've got to do something, find her ourselves!" he directed towards Bastila.
"I am, so step aside," Canderous growled.
"Really, how are you going to do that?" Jolee asked.
"I worked in the Exchange for Davik, remember? I got connections, I can ask around," he said forcefully. "And I can get answers."
"That plan might just work, Canderous. And once you find her, you can bring her back here…" Carth began. Canderous gave him a sharp look of disapproval.
"I follow Revan, I do not lead her. I am going to join her, Onasi, and I am bringing her droid back to her too, so don't try to stop us."
"But she is with the Sith!" Juhani exclaimed. "They are all we fought against this past year! You saw what they are capable of. How can you simply walk away and join them?"
"I have no loyalty to the Republic or to the Sith for that matter. I answer only to Revan. She is the leader of leaders: it is not just my duty to carry out her command, but an honor."
"So you would leave all this behind, Canderous?" Bastila said calmly with detached serenity. "You seemed to rather enjoy not looking over your shoulder every other moment."
"I will admit this soft existence is not without its pleasures, but the decision is not mine. There is no right or wrong in this: it simply is. It is her choice, and I will serve her."
"What if this is not her choice? You would be throwing away everything you, and we, have worked for. And you would not be obeying her command, but those of her enemies," Bastila said.
"Don't try to pull that psychological Kath crap on me. You know what Revan was, what she did. This was always her choice—what you want is a fantasy made up by the Jedi, and playtime is over. Just accept it, and move outta my way."
"Revan was once a servant of the Light, Canderous—I do not think falling to the dark side was part of her original plan."
"Like you, Bastila?" he sneered. Carth and the others tensed and stepped back.
"Exactly," she said with surprising calm. "I was forced into it, Canderous: maybe Revan was too, those years ago and this time as well." She had laid her trap well; he couldn't wait to jump into it. "We have yet to explain why you do not remember leaving the hotel with her yesterday."
"Because I did not, end of story," he asserted. "Ask the droid if you don't believe me!"
"Excellent idea," she said, wondering why she had not thought of it herself. "HK?"
"Acknowledgement! Query: is it time to finally leave?"
"HK, did Canderous go to Revan's room yesterday?" Bastila asked.
"Apology: I am sorry, my latest encounter with that malicious and talented but misinformed organic at the party has damaged my recent memory files. I cannot access that data; I believe it is lost and the files corrupted. Anticipation: I am sure my master will make the Twi'lek meatbag pay for such disrespect; I only hope I am there to witness the carnage."
"Looks like we will have to disagree on this one, Bastila. I do not see the point anyway," Canderous dismissed.
"What if you were overtaken by the Sith, and they erased your knowledge of the attack? Would it not interest you to learn the truth?"
"I would certainly like to know how those lightweights were able to defeat both me and Revan; I consider that impossible…it could not have happened."
"Sure it could have, son—you think the Sith fight fair?" Jolee chided.
"Well, I guess I will just have to ask about it when I find them," he said as he started to walk past. Jolee caught him by the arm.
"There is another way, Canderous."